There was a time when being green meant giving up style, However at this years Grand Designs Live show, Kevin McCloud wants to demonstrate this is far from the truth.
Over the last three years Grand Designs Live has served as both a showcase and launchpad for a host of products and new eco-technologies that aim to improve housing and our way of living in future. In other words we’re going to be seeing a lot of new green products WITH innovative design!
Back for the 8th consecutive year, we have decided to team up with Grand Designs Live to offer our readers the chance to win one of 10 pairs of tickets. Taking place at London’s ExCeL Centre from the 5th – 13th May 2012, the show will play host to over 500 exhibiting companies and 100’s of products you won’t find on the high street.
Here are some of the products and companies we are most excited to check out:
Plumen, the antithesis of low energy light bulbs as we know them. Rather than hide the unappealing traditional compact fluorescent light behind boring utility, Plumen 001 is a bulb you’ll want on show.
The Plumen bulb uses 80% less energy and lasts 8 times longer than incandescent bulbs, giving you the opportunity to purchase an ecological product with style. It works just like any low energy bulb but it has a lot more presence.
The Plumen 001 is built with beauty at its heart, glowing with the aesthetic of a sculptural object. The forms the glass tubes take are irregular yet harmonious, as the two organic shapes mirror each other to create symmetry.
Hendzel + Hut the vibrant, young design studio based in South London, specialising in the manufacture and design of bespoke cabinets and furniture using reclaimed materials, will also be there.
The kirkwood chair forms part of Hendzel + Hut’s MADE IN PECKHAM range, and is designed and built using reused, reclaimed materials all from the local area of Peckham, south east London.
The Kirkwood Chair specifically is made using reclaimed hardwood and Victorian floorboards. There are no metal fixings as the chair is joined using traditional jointing techniques.
UP the London based design studio specialises in Upcycling, using their special technique known as Netching, a unique form of etching that can be used on a variety of different surfaces.
Originally a print designer for the fashion industry, Jo Gibbs of Up became concerned about the damage the industry causes to the environment and wanted more control over what happened to her designs and how they were produced. She has always made use of discarded materials and objects and ‘Upcycled’ them by producing new items of the same or greater value. At the centre of her work is a an interest in lace; taken out of context it can be transformed into delicate and refined surface-designs. This process is the culmination of her fascination with etching and masking through use of alternative media. At the show she will be showing reclaimed roofing slates that have been Netched.
So if you are looking for design ideas and inspiration, make sure you check out the show this spring!
To win, simply answer the following question in the comment section and follow us on either Twitter or Facebook:
What TV series is Kevin McCloud known and loved for?
a) Grand Designs
b) Location Location Location
c) Restoration Man
*Terms and conditions apply,
1. This offer is only open to UK residents
2. Competition winners tickets are valid for any one day of the show between the 5th – 13th May to Grand Designs Live at Excel London
3. Tickets are non transferable
4. Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
5. All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show
6. The closing date for this offer is April 23rd 2012